Can't We Try?
by Blys Tanner
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke are a perfect couple, so what has changed that suddenly their relationship is on the verge of crumbling? Maybe nothing has changed at all. Maybe this was never meant to be... M for language


Hey all, this is my first time posting on FF. I posted this originally on quizilla *crowd boos*. However, I decided it would be the first thing I post here and I have made some wonderful additions and I hope you like them too!

*** I do NOT, repeat NOT, own Naruto. *grumbles* If I did, they would have NEVER been able to air it on TV. NEVER! You'd have to buy it on DVD, and you'd have to have a fake ID to get it for those of you who are not of age to buy adult content XD

Enjoy!

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Naruto sat in his living room and sighed. _What is happening to us? It's like I don't even exist anymore..._ It's not that he was ever paid much attention to begin with, but he had thought that being with the one he loved would have filled that void that was left those many years ago.

As a child the blonde was ignored. No, the boy was shunned. No one spoke to him. And Naruto couldn't do a damn thing about it.

So, when his love finally confessed feelings for him he thought that emptiness would be gone forever. The blond didn't count on his lover turning cold on him; the brutality of his distance did more damage than could be repaired. That feeling that the raven had conquered came back; it came back and exponentially expanded.  
The blonde's spirits deflated, a sinking feeling surrounding him. He looked over at Sasuke.

Indeed, the raven was sitting right next to him. To Naruto, it felt as if he couldn't have been farther away.

"Sasuke...?" The raven's cold eyes met Naruto's. The blank expression on his face didn't help. It looked as though his gaze passed right through his partner. He looked empty. Naruto could have cried at this sight.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, the dull, uninterested tone chilling Naruto to the bone. The blond fell silent, turning away from the empty vessel that was once his beloved. This person, whoever it was, was certainly not the one he fell in love with. "_What?_" The harshness of his tone made Naruto shudder.

The blond felt hot tears stinging his eyes. So, not wanting to give the dark man next to him any more ways to hurt him, he stood and left the room, walking into his bedroom and shutting the door. He sat on his bed, taking a deep breath. He stared at the pillows for a moment. This was not his bed. It was _their_ bed... The bed they shared, the bed they first made love in, the bed where the blond was held in the arms of the raven, and the raven held him as if he never wanted to let go.

This was not their bed anymore. Naruto could not share this bed with this stranger. The arms that once held him tight and close would loosely rest on his waist, if even at all. Naruto could not take it anymore, to put it simply. He buried his face into the pillow that smelled of his lover and cried. Hot tears spilled from his eyes, staining his face and the white pillow case. He could no longer fight off his sorrow, the darkness that once encased his life settling back in. "Sasuke..." He whispered into the fabric, "Where did you go?" He sobbed.

"When did I leave?" A foreign voce echoed in his ears. He sat up, wiping the tears off his face and looked at the man leaning in the doorway. He made his way over to the bed and sat at the blonde's feet. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Naruto felt as if his soul was being ripped out. The tone of Sasuke's voice was cold and disinterested, only asking because that is the normal thing to do. The blond sniffled softly and uttered, quite bluntly, "You" The raven seemed unaffected. "I don't know who you are. Sasuke where are you? Where is the person I fell in love with, because you sure as hell are not that guy! I don't know what's happened but..." He took a deep breath trying to fight the urge to break into hysterical sobs, the pain in his heart almost unbearable. "You could be right next to me and it's like I'm not even there. The way you look at me... I don't know, Sasuke. But, for me, it's like back when we were little. Only it's worse. Because the person I love can't see me. Sasuke, I can't find you anywhere. Even when you're with me it's as if you're ignoring me, just going through the motions" Tears welled up in his eyes once more as he looked away from his lover's cold gaze. The hollow onyx eyes didn't seem moved by the downtrodden mess that was Naruto.

"I'm glad you told me this" The raven said, leaning back on his elbows at the blonde's feet.

The blonde was baffled. "You… You're _glad_... You're _glad!?_" The blonde jumped to his feet and punched the wall above the headboard, leaving a large hole, the plaster cracking and falling off onto the bed. He gripped his now bleeding fist. "Well, I hope you're fucking glad, Sasuke! I hope you're really fucking happy! **FUCK. YOU.**" Hot tears stained his already red face. "This…" He started, his voice quivering as he tried to fight his sobs. "This is _exactly_ what I was talking about. How can you keep doing this to me? Don't you see? _Can't_ you see what you're doing to me?" He stood over the raven. "And you don't even care" He marveled as the words left his mouth, for it is one thing to think them, but an entirely different thing to finally say the words, for that makes any unspoken truth a reality.

Blood dripped onto Sasuke's leg. He looked at the crimson droplet as it stained his shorts.

"**I THOUGHT YOU FUCKING LOVED ME!**" He cried out.

Sasuke looked up at his blond. Yes, _his_ blond. In this instance, had it been anyone else, he would have merely scoffed and shrugged it off. But this was Naruto. His brilliant blue eyes were vibrant against the pink that had taken place of the white, due to his tears. Sasuke took the blond's hand that had broken the wall and kissed each bloody, bruised knuckle. He pulled the blond down and into his grasp. He kissed his pouting lips, brushing his against them softly. He stroked Naruto's cheek, wiping a few stray tears away. "Naruto..." he whispered."I _**do **_love you... So much more than you know... I... I'm sorry... Please-" He kissed him gently, "Pease" Another sensual kiss, "_Please_ forgive me..."

Naruto wanted to melt into the soft lips of his lover, but denied himself the pleasure. He pulled away. "No, I can't..."

"Try"

"No... Sasuke, how can you just expect me to just let this go?"

Sasuke cupped his face with both hands now and stared passionately into cerulean eyes, the eyes he saw the pain he had inflicted in. "For the exact reason that my actions hurt you so much... Because you love me... And because I love you"

Naruto's hands went instinctively to Sasuke's, which were still clutching his face. "I do" Naruto whispered. "…But-"

Sasuke's hands stiffened on his lover's face, shock crushing his features. "_No!_ No _but_… There is not but about it. You love me, I love you. That's it. There is not 'but'!" He searched blue eyes frantically, blue eyes that would not hold his gaze. "_Look at me!" _He choked. He watched his lover slowly disappearing behind a dull, stony blue, one that did not belong there. Is this what he'd done? Had he made Naruto watch as he made his own retreat? Had he really been so afraid of losing something he'd loved and longed for, for what felt like an eternity, that he'd shut down and tried to protect his heart from the pain of losing that what was most important to him, only to crush it by his own hand? This wasn't happening; it _couldn't_ be! There had to be a way to right this horrible wrong he'd done. He, again, searched an empty face, a face made of flesh toned stone. Sasuke felt suddenly angry, so suddenly that he hardly registered his own actions as they took place. He growled, "Dobe-", and was kissing the love of his life so fiercely, so angrily that he was certain both their lips would be bruised. And he didn't care. His ferocity was a reflection of his own self loathing. How he wished like hell there was something painful enough he could inflict on himself physically to match the emotional pain he'd caused his love, as well as himself. He squeezed his eyes shut as hot tears of anger and pain leaked from his eyes. He could taste the blood from Naruto's hand on his lips as it mixed with his own salty tears. He was fighting a battle he could not win, and he knew it, for the blonde took no action at all. He felt his heart breaking as he felt a similar snap happen in his mind. Is this how it would be? He could not allow it. He would surely lose his sanity if he lost Naruto this way. He resolved then and there, though the decision was made subconsciously long ago, that he could not, nor would he ever live without Naruto. He felt himself losing his mind.

He stopped kissing the unresponsive blonde and his eyes opened wide as he took in his face, the face of an angel, an angel made of stone. He could swear he even felt cold to touch. Sasuke's blood turned to ice in his veins. He shoved Naruto down onto his back on the bed and growled "_kiss me!"_

The blonde's head just rolled to the side.

Sasuke _heard_ the crack that took place in his mind. "_Naruto!"_ He growled, his voice breaking. He turned Naruto's face towards himself. "Kiss. Me._ Back."_ He ground out.

"…I can't" Naruto whispered hoarsely.

Sasuke's grip on the boy's shoulders tightened. "Yes, you _can_"

Sasuke could have sworn he heard a snap in _Naruto's_ head, and a split second after the boy exploded. "No! I **CAN'T!** I CAN'T AND I WON'T!" The boy's glare was frightening. "WHY SHOULD I? SO YOU CAN STOP HATING YOURSELF FOR BEING THE ASS THAT YOU ARE, PRETEND TO CARE, AND THEN DISAPPEAR AGAIN? **I DON'T THINK SO!** **FORGET IT!**" He shoved Sasuke off him and sat up. "I won't be the cure to your self-loathing" he muttered, mostly to himself. "I won't put myself through that again"

Sasuke would not let their contact be lost. Not now that Naruto was there. He was angry, but he was Naruto and this might be the only opportunity he'll get to correct his horrid error. And so, he grabbed Naruto's hand, firmly gripping it, fighting against the blonde's struggles to get free. Both had long forgotten that it had been bleeding. "Naruto, I love you and I _know_ that you love me. You love me much, much more than I have ever deserved. I am asking you," He grasped Naruto's hand with both of his own and got on his knees on the floor, "_begging_ you to forgive me for what I've done to you, to _us_"

Naruto's glare softened into an almost pitying look. "I don't think I can. I don't think there can be an 'us' anymore…" he barely breathed out.

A punch to the stomach couldn't have knocked the wind out of Sasuke faster or more effectively. He squeezed Naruto's hand so tightly he could have broken it. He might have broken it. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't see anything. It was as if he was under water, drowning, spiraling into cold, black nothingness.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke" was the only thing he heard, and he was only just able to.

Sasuke found himself frantically shaking his head, despairing. _No, no, no, no NO! This isn't happening!_ "Don't say that! Don't say that, _please!_ There has to be a way, Naruto… Something… _Anything! _Just let me fix this! Just give me a chance! Give _us_ a chance… We can make this work… It can be better than we ever dreamed… We can do this together, but you just _have to try_… _please…_ Can't we try?" The end was barely audible, and he wondered if Naruto had even heard him, had even listened to anything he'd said. He looked up at his lover, helpless.

Naruto's free hand moved towards Sasuke's face and the raven nearly cringed, not knowing what to expect. He half expected to be punched, so when a soft, warm hand cupped his cheek and the gentle pad of a thumb wiped the tears he hadn't known he'd cried off of his face he was quite surprised. He gazed up at his lover, hoping beyond hope that this would be a sign of something good.

"I love you, Sasuke" Was all that the blonde murmured, but the small smile that slowly crossed his features and the bright blue of his eyes as he gazed at his dark haired lover answered the questions more completely than words could have come close to.

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Well I certainly hope that you enjoyed this. I think it's pretty good, but what do I know? R&&R would be fantastic. I'm open to criticism, of course, so don't be afraid that I'll kill you in your sleep ^_^ Just no flaming or I will *death glare*

Kay? Kay. Ciao!


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